Daniel study section
Daniel word studies
A handful of Hebrew and Aramaic words carry the theology of Daniel. Tap the speaker next to any word to hear it pronounced.
Key words
מַלְכוּ (malku) — “Kingdom, Reign”
Usage: Daniel 2:44; 4:3; 6:26; 7:14, 27 (Aramaic)
Meaning: Kingdom, kingship, royal power. The Aramaic word runs through the book, contrasting the passing kingdoms of men with God’s kingdom that “shall never be destroyed.”
Theological Significance: The everlasting malku given to the Son of Man is fulfilled in Christ, who receives an unending kingdom over all nations (Daniel 7:14; Luke 1:33; Revelation 11:15). Daniel assures God’s people that His kingdom will outlast and overcome every earthly power.
בַּר אֱנָשׁ (bar enash) — “Son of Man”
Usage: Daniel 7:13 (Aramaic)
Meaning: “Son of man,” a human figure — yet here one who comes “with the clouds of heaven,” a divine prerogative, and receives everlasting dominion.
Theological Significance: This is the passage behind Jesus’ favorite self-designation, “the Son of Man,” which He applied to Himself at His trial as the one who would come on the clouds (Mark 14:62). Daniel reveals the Messiah as the heavenly, everlasting King.
רָז (raz) — “Mystery, Secret”
Usage: Daniel 2:18-19, 27-30, 47 (Aramaic)
Meaning: A mystery or secret, something hidden that only God can reveal. God alone is “a revealer of mysteries,” making known the king’s dream to Daniel.
Theological Significance: God’s power to reveal raz — hidden things, especially the future — proves He rules history. The New Testament takes up this word for the “mystery” of the gospel now revealed in Christ, in whom God’s hidden plan is unveiled (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:4-6).
עֶלְיוֹנִין (elyonin) — “The Most High”
Usage: Daniel 3:26; 4:17, 34; 7:18, 25 (Aramaic)
Meaning: “The Most High,” a title exalting God above all rulers and gods. It is the confession pagan kings are led to make about the God of Daniel.
Theological Significance: The title declares God’s supremacy over every earthly and heavenly power. It assures the persecuted that the Most High rules, and it is the God whom Jesus reveals and whose kingdom He brings (Luke 1:32).
קַדִּישִׁין (qadishin) — “Holy Ones, Saints”
Usage: Daniel 7:18, 22, 25, 27 (Aramaic)
Meaning: Holy ones, saints — the people of God who, though warred against, will receive and possess the everlasting kingdom.
Theological Significance: The promise that “the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom” assures God’s suffering people of final vindication and reign with the Son of Man, fulfilled as believers inherit the kingdom in Christ (Daniel 7:27; Revelation 5:10; 22:5).
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